Great write-up. Thanks for sharing that.
I started getting almost annual bouts of bronchitis during college. I’d typically get two colds per year with one turning into a nagging cough that would go on for ten or twelve weeks. As I hit my 40s, they were getting worse and I started seeing doctors, but they said their was little that could be done other than an Albuterol inhaler and letting it take its course. Albuterol didn’t do much for me at all.
About four or five years ago my doc referred me to an immunologist for something. She found I have zero detectable immunoglobulin A (IgA), the antibody that fights infection in mucous membranes. Turns out this “Selective IgA Deficiency” is quite common among the population and most people don’t even know they have it. The bad news is that it cannot be treated.
Was that a root cause of all my colds and bronchitis? Sounds plausible.
Three years ago, I got a cold, then bronchitis, and it evolved to walking pneumonia. My lungs were so bad I though I was going to die. The doc said he was seeing a lot of bronchitis and it would clear up in 12 weeks. The doc first used antibiotics with Prednisone, but it didn’t respond. Then it was antibiotics with Prednisolone. It went away at week 12, right on schedule.
I had moved from sunny California (where I was hiking most of the year round) to dark, gray North Idaho, so maybe the pneumonia was related to a Vit D deficiency.
When COVID hit, I started taking the Dr. Paul Marik EVMS protocol together with Povidone Iodine gargle and “First Defence” nasal spray at the first hint of a sore throat. I really ramped up my hand washing and worked to stop touching my face and nose. Another factor is that I retired five years ago so I am no longer in a crowded office environment and the kids are all grown and gone. I haven’t had a cold since I started starting the regimen.
My bronchitis appears to be associated with rheumatoid arthritis, possibly a touch of what is known as Interstitial Lung Disease. Like you, I've asked several docs about it and never gotten a clear answer.
In my case, I'll get a flare up if exposed to dust; sawdust (especially treated wood), basement dust, etc will aggravate it, and then it always goes bacterial. I keep Azithromycin on hand for when it goes bacterial, try to treat it as soon as the infection makes it's presence known (I can taste it) to keep any scarring to a minimum. It's been happening 1-2 times a year since 2017. I NEED to get better at avoiding the dust.
Anyway, the Azithromycin absolutely knocks it out in my case. Very effective.